Electrum Metal Alloy Electrum Metal Alloy Electrum Metal Alloy Electrum or Green Gold This ancient Lydian electrum coin dates back to the early 6th century BC. Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. Electrum is a naturally-occurring alloy of gold and silver with a small amount of other metals. The man-made alloy of gold and silver is chemically similar to electrum, but usually is called green gold. Electrum Chemical Composition Electrum consists of gold and silver, often with small amounts of copper, platinum, or other metals. Copper, iron, bismuth, and palladium commonly occur in natural electrum. The name may be applied to any gold-silver alloy that is 20-80% gold and 20-80% silver, but unless it is the natural alloy, the synthesized metal is more correctly termed 'green gold', 'gold', or 'silver' (depending which metal is present in the higher amount). The ratio of gold to silver in natural electrum varies according to its source. Natural electrum found today in Western Anatolia contains 70% to 90% gold.

Most examples of ancient electrum are coins, which contain increasingly lower amounts of gold, so it's believed the raw material was alloyed further to conserve profit. continue reading below our video 10 Facts About the Titanic That You Don't Know The word electrum has also been applied to the alloy called German silver, although this is an alloy that is silver in color, not elemental composition. German silver typically consists of 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. Electrum Appearance Natural electrum ranges in color from pale gold to bright gold, depending on the amount of the element gold present in the alloy. Brassy-colored electrum contains a higher amount of copper. Although the ancient Greeks called the metal white gold, the modern meaning of the phrase " white gold " refers to a different alloy that contains gold, but appears silvery or white. Modern green gold, consisting of gold and silver, actually does appear yellowish -green. Intentional addition of cadmium may enhance the green color, although cadmium is toxic, so this limits the uses of the alloy. Addition of 2% cadmium produces a light green color, while 4% cadmium yields a deep green color.

Alloying with copper deepens the color of the metal. Electrum Properties The exact properties of electrum depend on the metals in the alloy and their percentage. Generally, electrum has a high reflectivity, is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity, is ductile and malleable, and is fairly corrosion resistant. Electrum Uses Electrum has been used as currency, to make jewelry and ornaments, for drinking vessels, and as an exterior coating for pyramids and obelisks. The earliest known coins in the Western world were minted of electrum and it remained popular for coinage until about 350 BC. Electrum is harder and more durable than pure gold, plus the techniques for gold refining were not widely known in ancient times. Thus, electrum was a popular and valued precious metal. Electrum History As a natural metal, electrum was obtained and used by early man. Electrum was used to make the earliest metal coins, dating back at least to the 3rd millenium BC in Egypt. The Egyptians also used the metal to coat important structures. Ancient drinking vessels were made of electrum. The modern Nobel Prize medal consists of green gold (synthesized electrum) plated with gold.

Where Can I Find Electrum? Unless you visit a museum or win the Nobel Prize, you best chance of finding electrum is to seek the natural alloy. In ancient times, the chief source of electrum was Lydia, around the Pactolus River, a tributary of the Hermus, now called the Gediz Nehriin in Turkey. In the modern world, the primary source of electrum is Anatolia. Smaller amounts also may be found in Nevada, in the USA. electrum | alloy | Britannica.com Electrum palladium (Pd) Electrum, natural or artificial alloy of gold with at least 20 percent silver , which was used to make the first known coins in the Western world. Most natural electrum contains copper , iron , palladium , bismuth , and perhaps other metals. The colour varies from white-gold to brassy, depending on the percentages of the major constituents and copper. In the ancient world the chief source was Lydia , in Asia Minor , where the alloy was found in the area of the Pactolus River, a small tributary of the Hermus (modern Gediz Nehri, in Turkey).

The first Occidental coinage, possibly begun by King Gyges (7th century bc) of Lydia, consisted of irregular ingots of electrum bearing his stamp as a guarantee of negotiability at a predetermined value. Learn More in these related articles: Lydia (ancient region, Anatolia) ancient land of western Anatolia, extending east from the Aegean Sea and occupying the valleys of the Hermus and Cayster rivers. The Lydians were said to be the originators of gold and silver coins. During their brief hegemony over Asia Minor from the middle of the 7th to the middle of the 6th... 5 References found in Britannica Articles Assorted References silver-gold alloys (in metallurgy: Precious metals ) External Links Corrections? Updates? Help us improve this article! Contact our editors with your feedback. MEDIA FOR: You have successfully emailed this. Error when sending the email. Try again later. Edit Mode Submit Tips For Editing We welcome suggested improvements to any of our articles. You can make it easier for us to review and, hopefully, publish your contribution by keeping a few points in mind. Encyclopædia Britannica articles are written in a neutral objective tone for a general audience.

You may find it helpful to search within the site to see how similar or related subjects are covered. Any text you add should be original, not copied from other sources. At the bottom of the article, feel free to list any sources that support your changes, so that we can fully understand their context. (Internet URLs are the best.) Your contribution may be further edited by our staff, and its publication is subject to our final approval. Unfortunately, our editorial approach may not be able to accommodate all contributions. Submit Thank You for Your Contribution! Our editors will review what you've submitted, and if it meets our criteria, we'll add it to the article. Please note that our editors may make some formatting changes or correct spelling or grammatical errors, and may also contact you if any clarifications are needed. Uh Oh There was a problem with your submission. Please try again later. Close Date Published: July 20, 1998 URL: Access Date: January 17, 2017 Share Electrum Order Form USA Electrum Electrum is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver. Typically it may contain between 50% to 80% of gold, with a complementary amount of silver.

In most electrum deposits there will also be some amounts of copper, this can vary up to as much as about 20% in some places. Other metallic elements may also be present in small amounts. Elektron The word electrum comes from the Greek word elektron, referring to the gold silver alloy, although the same word is also used for amber, in both cases this is because of its pale yellow colour. The word itself appears to have come from the Greek word for brilliant or the sun, and used to describe a yellow colour. Incidentally the English word electron is so called because of the strongly electrostatic properties of amber when rubbed. Greek? We may try to reproduce the Greek word for electrum here when we can figure out how to reproduce it in HTML codes. Early Coins Some of the earliest known coins were made of electrum, probably in Lydia around 643 BC. In about 643 to 630 B.C., the Lydians had started to produce the first coins. They were quite crude, and were made of electrum, a naturally occurring pale yellow mixture of gold and silver.

These first coins were similar in composition to alluvial deposits found in the silt of the River Pactolus, which ran through the Lydian capital, Sardis. Its use seems to have continued until at least 350 BC. See our Brief History of Gold Coins page. Base Metal According to our copy of The Oxford English Dictionary, the word electrum has also been used for a modern (circa 1875) base metal alloy containing copper and zinc with tin, nickel or both. Presumably this also had a pale yellow colour and was made in imitation of natural or native electrum, and probably used for costume jewellery. ø Electrum | Gold Alloys | Coin And Bullion Pages ø Share this page: What is Electrum? Despite being considered ‘primitive’, the ancients had a very good grasp of the sciences, mathematics, chemistry, and physics to enable them to create wonders that even to this day is still considered amazing. One of these wonders comes in their knack for developing and employing metallic alloys. Despite being considered a fairly modern innovation, alloys are an ancient staple of human culture, dating back to the dawn of history, and evolving all throughout the course of time.

Whether they were alloying metals for martial, ornamental, or utilitarian purposes, the ancients had it going whenever talk of metals were involved. One of the most highly valued and commonly used metals of the ancient world was gold and silver, as well as any natural combination of the two. Because these two noble metals were resistant to corrosion and tarnishing, they made for excellent metals to mint currency with, and their inherent luster and malleability made them perfect as materials for personal adornment. However, gold and silver were too soft to be used in its pure form, and had to be combined with other metals (along with each other) to be more durable. One of the most common and amazing alloys of the ancient world was known as electrum. Electrum is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, usually possessing trace amounts of other elements such as copper or lead. Electrum in its pure state is a natural alloy of gold and silver, and has been used for the creation of coins in the Old Kingdom of Egypt since the third millennium BC. The Egpytian Pharaoh Sahure who ruled during the Fifth Dynasty has sent out an expedition to locate and eventually mine naturally occurring electrum for Egyptian coinage.

[1] Pliny the Elder himself mentions the metal in his Naturalis Historia. Electrum, being a combination of gold and silver was also attested some magical features, having been attributed the ability to ‘glow’ in Judaic writings, while being made into the choice metal for a magical stylus tipped with a glowing crystal in Sumerian myths. Despite not being so well-known, pop-culture has even adopted electrum as a metallic alloy of renown, having been used by Jedis in the making of lightsaber hilts as a sign of their mastery of the Force. [2] Natural electrum usually contains around 70% to 90% gold, with varying amounts of silver and other elements intermixed. During the height of minting during the ancient times however, electrum later came to be produced artificially through the means of combining pure gold and silver along with common metals. The amount of gold and silver in artificially alloyed electrum however varied largely, often middling at 45% - 55%, and sometimes even lower.

While an alloy of gold and silver is strictly referred to as electrum (often colloquially named ‘green gold’ for its slightly greenish tinge), the gold and silver content of a man-made electrum alloy may not be as much as in a naturally occurring one, sometimes even being so low as to the point of being significant only in lending the coin the bright-yellow coloration or greenish hue of the alloy, without bearing its true value or weight in gold and silver. Because it was easily made, and because it became a mainstay of ancient currency for a while, many civilizations employed electrum coins, until such a time when the purity of the coinage was compromised by the lessening of the gold composition, literally stripping away much of the inherent value of the coinage while retaining only it’s face value – a feature common in currency today. While commonly of a pale-yellow to near-white in hue, electrum can sometimes appear as somewhat greenish, especially if the natural or man-made alloy contains slightly significant amounts of copper. Although the ancients referred to it as white gold, it is by no means similar to the alloy of palladium, nickel, and silver that constitutes what we know as white gold today.

[3] Electrum - References: Electrum | Forgotten Realms Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Edit Most of Faerûn used “standard rates of exchange for coinage”, [4] based on the silver and gold standard, with copper pieces (cp) worth 1/100 of a gold piece (gp), and silver pieces (sp) worth 1/10 of a gp. Electrum pieces (ep) were worth 1/2 of a gp, [3] [5] and platinum pieces were worth 10 gp. Each coin is approximately 30.6 mm in diameter and weighs approximately 9 grams each (or 50 to one pound). Electrum pieces were called blue eyes in Cormyr , [3] [5] centaurs or decimes in Amn , [5] centarches in Calimport , [5] , and moons in Waterdeep. [5] Throughout the heartlands , common electrum pieces—round Cormyan eyes; diamond-shaped Sembian electrums, Calimshite tazos and zonths, and Amnite centaurs—were called “blue eyes”, regardless of origin.

[4] Exceptions included: The original shining blue crescent-shaped electrum moon of Silverymoon —was a coin worth 1 ep throughout the Realms, but twice that much in the city itself. [4] The harbor moon of Waterdeep —was a cresent shaped Waterdhavian coin of platinum inset with electrum, with a hole in its center. In Waterdeep it was valued at 50 gp and used for bulk transactions. [5] Outside the city, harbor moons were valued between 2 gp, [4] and 30 gp. [6] “In lieu of platinum pieces, Sembia mints electrum pieces (ep) known as blue-eyes, each equal in value to 5 gp.” [7] Other uses Edit The spell Khelben 's warding whip used a pinch of powdered electrum as a material component. [4] The spell Leomund 's secret chest could use a chest fashioned from bronze, copper, or silver, with fittings of electrum or silver. [8] [9] [2] Magical morning stars —known as storm star s—are crafted from electrum-plated steel, and can unleash a chain lightning effect.

An electrum mounting, allows witherite to be worn as a protection to necromantic attacks. [10] Two notable tomes—The Chambeeleon and The Tome of the Unicorn —had electrum pages, with the latter also having electrum covers. [11] If one of the twisted bands of a shoonring was made of electrum, this usually indicated that the ring contained multiple powers and enhanced the effects of the magics involved. [12] Conversion AD&D (1st Ed.) [8] 200 cp = 20 sp = 2 ep = 1 gp = 1⁄5 pp 100 cp = 10 sp = 1 ep = ½ gp = 1⁄10 pp AD&D 2nd Ed. [9] 100 cp = 10 sp = 2 ep = 1 gp = 1⁄5 pp 50 cp = 5 sp = 1 ep = ½ gp = 1⁄10 pp D&D 3rd Ed.

[2] 100 cp = 10 sp = 1 gp = 1⁄10 pp Electrum pieces (ep) are not mentioned in the core rules, and common electrum pieces are not mentioned in the FRCS. D&D 4th Ed. 100 cp = 10 sp = 1 gp = 1⁄100 pp = 1⁄10,000 ad Electrum pieces (ep) are not mentioned in the core rules, and only a Sembian electrum coin (worth 5 gp?) is mentioned in the FRCG. D&D 5th Ed. [13] 100 cp = 10 sp = 2 ep = 1 gp = 1⁄10 pp 50 cp = 5 sp = 1 ep = ½ gp = 1⁄20 pp See also Electrum . The word “electrum” comes form a Greek word meaning pale-yellow, that was used both for the alloy, and for amber . Properties of amber led to to the modern English words “electron” and “electricity”.

Electrum alloys are primarily gold and silver (20–80% of each), with trace amounts of copper , platinum , and other metals. When used for Mediterranean coinage, the amount of gold (40–55%) was lower than local natural alloys (~70%) showing that the minters were adding silver to reduce the gold percentage. The color of electrum alloys (described as “white gold”, “pale gold”, or “green gold”) depended on the ratio of silver and gold (white- or pale-yellow) and trace elements such as copper (greenish-yellow). [14] References gold Encyclopedia > Science and Technology > Chemistry > Compounds and Elements gold gold, metallic chemical element; symbol Au [Lat. aurum = shining dawn]; at. no. 79; at. wt. 196.96657; m.p. 1,064.43°C; b.p. 2,808°C; sp. gr. 19.32 at 20°C; valence +1 or +3. Gold is very ductile and is the most malleable metal; it can be beaten into extremely thin sheets of gold leaf.

Only silver and copper, which are above it in Group 11 of the periodic table , are better electrical conductors. Gold is chemically inactive. It is unaffected by moisture, oxygen, or ordinary acids but is attacked by the halogens . Aqua regia (a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids that liberates chlorine) is so named for its ability to dissolve gold, the "king" of the metals. Gold forms both aurous (univalent) and auric (trivalent) compounds; auric chloride and chloroauric acid are its most common compounds. A relatively soft metal, gold is usually hardened by alloying with copper, silver, or other metals. White gold, a substitute for platinum, is an alloy of gold with platinum, palladium, nickel, or nickel and zinc. Green gold, also used by jewelers, is usually an alloy of gold with silver. Alloys of gold with copper are a reddish yellow and are used for coinage and jewelry. Gold is often found in nature alloyed with other metals; when more than 20% of silver is present the alloy is called electrum.

The gold content of an alloy is commonly stated in carats, a carat being 1/24 part by weight of the total mass. Pure gold is therefore 24 carats fine; an alloy that is 75% gold is 18 carats fine. Fineness is sometimes expressed in terms of parts per thousand; thus gold containing 10% of other metals is said to have a fineness of 900. Gold is widely distributed on the earth; although large amounts are present also in seawater, the cost of current methods for recovering it exceeds its value. Most gold is found in the metallic state in the form of dust, grains, flakes, or nuggets. It occurs, usually in association with silver or other metals, in quartz veins or lodes so finely disseminated that it is not visible. It is found also in alluvial placer deposits, which are worked by panning, dredging, and hydraulic mining. Gold is extracted from its ores by mechanical means and separated from other metals by chemical processes, notably the cyanide process , the amalgamation process , and the chlorination process (in this the ore is oxidized and chlorinated and the gold precipitated with hydrogen sulfide).

It also occurs in compounds, notably telluride minerals. Gold has been known from prehistoric times and was possibly the first metal used by humans. It was valued for ornaments (see goldwork ), and magical efficacy was attributed to it. In the Middle Ages alchemists sought to transmute baser metals into gold. The quest for gold stimulated European explorations and conquests in the Western Hemisphere, and its discovery has led to many a gold rush . Much of the gold now extracted is used for jewelry. The chief producers are China, Australia, the United States (especially in Nevada and Alaska), South Africa, Peru, Russia, Indonesia, and Canada. For a discussion of the monetary function of gold, see bimetallism ; coin ; international monetary system ; money . The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. Facts about Gold Facts about Gold An Educational Guide to Gold for Kids Facts about Gold Gold, like no other metal, has a fascinating history and a special place in the world. For thousands of years it has been used as an ornament of kings, a currency and standard for global currencies, and more recently, in a wide range of electronic devices and medical applications.

Gold's many unique properties have secured it a central role in history and human development. Gold is a remarkable, rare metal, with an unparalleled combination of chemical and physical properties. It is the only yellow metal and bears its name from the Old English word for yellow, 'geolu'. It is also the only metal that forms no oxide film on it's surface in air at normal temperatures, meaning that it will never rust or tarnish. Gold's chemical symbol, Au, comes from the latin word for gold, aurum.

In the Periodic Table of Elements, gold is classified as a transitional metal with the following characteristics: Symbol: Au Melting point: 1,064.43°C (1,337.58°K, 1,947.97°F) Boiling point: 2,807.0°C (3,80.15°K, 5,084.6°F) Density @ 293°K: 19.32 grams per cubic centimeter Crystal structure: cubic Atomic Structure Shells: 2,8,18,32,18,1 Like other transition metals gold's valence electrons, or the electrons it uses to combine with other elements, are present in more than one shell. Unusually for a metal, gold can also form compounds (aurides) in which its oxidation number is negative (-1). For example, gold can combine with cesium to form cesium auride, CsAu, and rubidium to form rubidium auride, RbAu.

These are ionic compounds with non-metallic properties in which the Cs or Rb ions are charged +1 while the Au atoms are charged 1-. Gold may be alloyed with various other metals to give it special properties. In its pure form, gold has a metallic luster and is sun yellow, but when mixed or alloyed with other metals, such as silver (Ag), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), tellurium (Te), and iron (Fe), creates various color hues ranging from silver-white to green and orange-red. Usually, red, yellow and green golds are made by adding varying amounts of copper (Cu) and silver (Ag) to produce alloys of 10 to 14 carats. White golds have traditionally been made by alloying nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) with gold, but more recently silver (Ag) and palladium (Pd) have replaced the zinc. These color variation treatments to gold are mostly used in jewelry. Gold is found in nature in quartz veins and secondary alluvial deposits as a free metal or in a combined state.

It is widely distributed although it is rare, being 75th in order of abundance of the elements in the crust of the Earth. It is almost always associated with varying amounts of silver; the naturally occurring gold-silver alloy is called electrum. Gold occurs, in chemical combination with tellurium, in the minerals calaverite and sylvanite along with silver, and in the mineral nagyagite along with lead, antimony, and sulfur. It occurs with mercury as gold amalgam. It is generally present to a small extent in iron pyrites; galena, the lead sulfide ore that usually contains silver, sometimes also contains appreciable amounts of gold. Gold also occurs in seawater to the extent of 5 to 250 parts by weight to 100 million parts of water. Although the quantity of gold present in seawater is more than 9 billion metric tons, the cost of recovering the gold would be far greater than the value of the gold that could thus be recovered. Properties of Gold Khrysos (Gold) is a child of Zeus; neither moth nor rust devoureth it; but the mind of man is devoured by this supreme possession. - 5th century Greek fragment.

The crystal structure for metallic gold is face centred cubic. This crystal structure contributes to gold's very high ductility since the lattices are particularly suitable for allowing the movement of dislocations in the lattice. An unparalleled combination of chemical and physical properties make gold invaluable to a wide range of everyday applications. One of the most important of these properties is gold's virtual indestructibility. Gold is the most non-reactive of all metals. It is called a "noble" metal (an alchemistic term) because it does not oxidize under ordinary conditions, meaning that it will never rust and never tarnish.It will, however, dissolve in aqueous mixtures containing various halogens such as chlorides, bromides, or some iodides. It will also dissolve in some oxidizing mixtures, such as cyanide ion with oxygen, and in aqua regia, a mixture of hydrochloric and nitric acids. Gold is only 2.5 on the Mohs scale of hardness - about the same as a fingernail. Pure gold is so soft and malleable that a strong man can squeeze it and shape it. Therefore, gold could be used by artisans around the world for as far back as time can tell.

Gold's physical properties of high electrical conductivity and chemical inertness make it an excellent and reliable conductor, particularly in harsh environments, where temperatures can range from -55°C to 200°C. The use of gold in circuitry ensures reliability of equipment operation, particularly in the vital activation of safety airbag mechanisms in motor vehicles or deployment of satellites and spacecraft.No other metal is as ductile or as malleable as gold. A single ounce of the metal can be drawn into a wire five miles long. Gold can be hammered into sheets so thin that light can pass through. High purity gold reflects infrared (heat) energy almost completely, making it ideal for heat and radiation reflection. Gold-coated visors protected astronauts' eyes from searing sunlight on the Apollo 11 moon landing. Gold is also an excellent conductor of thermal energy. It is used in many electronic processes to draw heat away from delicate instruments. For example, the main engine nozzle of the space shuttle uses a 35% gold alloy. Annealing Annealing gold can make it both harder, and stronger. However, there is a point at which it can be overworked, which will eventually cause it to easily fracture. Metals have a crystalline structure.

When a metal is strained and distorted mechanically, the crystals become stressed and the metal hardens. To relieve this stress, and "relax" the structure, they must be heated to a temperature somewhat below the melting point. This is called annealing. Gold alloys must be cooled slowly after annealing. Wear The wear resistance is related to its surface hardness and age as well as to the actual metal. The annealed hardness of 9 & 18 kt golds are similar. 18, 14, 9 kt golds are considerably harder than 22 or 24 kt golds. Annealing softens them, and working (bending, twisting) tends to work harden metals (this explains why forged steel is much stronger than cast steel for the same alloy content). Gold Colors Gold is bright yellow and has a high luster. Apart from copper and caesium it is the only non white colored metal. Gold’s attractive warm colour has led to its widespread use in decoration. The arrangement of outer electrons around the gold nucleus is the reason for the yellow color; to be precise, the transition of electrons from the d band to unoccupied positions in the conduction band.

Finely divided gold, like other metallic powders, is black; colloidally suspended gold ranges in color from ruby red to purple.Gold can mixed with other metals to give it different colors. White gold is very popular right now. It can be in 18-karat or 14-karat gold (but not in 22-karat, as it is yellow gold). There are two basic types of white gold alloys: white gold mixed with nickel and white gold mixed with palladium. Nickel can be mixed with gold to create a white or gray color, but some people have an allergy to nickel. Palladium is another metal used to create white gold. Palladium is better but it costs more. To enhance the whiteness, almost all white gold is plated with rhodium, a shiny, white metal which is extremely hard. Depending on the amount of wear to a piece of jewelry, over time this rhodium plating may wear off, revealing the original metal color. Copper creates pink and rose tones in gold.The more the copper, the deeper will be the effect. Greenish shades are created by adding silver to gold w hile excluding copper from the mix.

18K green gold can be made from 75% gold and 25% silver. Cadmium can be incorporated to vary the tint of green. So combining 75% gold and 23% copper with 2% cadmium creates a light green, while 75% gold, 15% silver, 6% copper and 4% cadmium creates a dark green. Rose gold and Green gold can be 18-karat or 14-karat but the color is stronger in the 14-karat alloys. Purple gold. It is referred as amethyst or violet gold. Purple gold is obtained by mixing gold and aluminium in a certain fixed ratio. Gold content is almost 79% and therefore it is qualified to be referred to as 18K gold. Blue gold is made as an inter-metallic compound between gold and indium . The gold gets a bluish hue color with this process. Black gold is created using a few techniques. Electro-deposition using black rhodium or ruthenium is the first technique. Controlled oxidation of Carat gold containing cobalt or chromium can also be made to create black gold.

Amorphous carbon is also used some times, with the Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition process. Chocolate gold is derived from a relatively new method created in Italy. Referred to as physical vaporization and deposition, it entails placing gold (usually rose-colored) in a suction compartment and blasting it with electrodes. This approach causes the gold's surface to oxidize in a controlled environment, resulting in the metal's color changing at a molecular level and producing a rich chocolate color. This permanently alters the metal and can only be removed by scraping off the outer layers ALLOY NAME 5.5% Zinc Uses of Gold Gold's special properties mean that it has a greater variety of uses than almost any metal. Gold conducts electricity, does not tarnish, is very easy to work, can be drawn into wire, can be hammered into thin sheets, alloys with many other metals, can be melted and cast into highly detailed shapes, has a wonderful color and a brilliant luster. Gold has been prized by people since the earliest times for making statues and icons and also for jewelry to adorn their bodies. Intricately sculptured art objects and adornment jewelry have been uncovered in the Sumerian royal Tombs in southern Iraq and the tombs of Egyptian kings.

Significant buildings and religious temples and statues have been covered with thinly beaten sheets of gold. Due to its rarity, gold has long been considered a symbol of the wealth and power of its possessor. The following table gives recent demand for gold in tonnes. Jewelry For information on gold supply click here . Orig ins of gold The relative average abundance of gold in our Solar System appears higher than can be made in the early universe, in stars, and even in typical supernova explosions. Some astronomers now suggest that neutron-rich heavy elements such as gold might be most easily made in rare neutron-rich explosions such as the collision of neutron stars. When two neutron stars collide, the resulting explosion produces massive amounts of gamma radiation. On 3rd June 2013 astronomers were able to observe such a collision. The unique glow that persisted for days at the location potentially signified the creation of substantial amounts of heavy elements - including gold. The amount of gold produced and ejected during the merger of the two neutron stars may be as large as 10 moon masses. This is probably how gold originates. In the Milky Way, such gamma ray burst happens about every 100,000 years.

The gold got to Earth when gold-containing meteorites bombarded the surface about 200 million years ago. Gold is widespread in low concentrations in all igneous rocks and has been discovered on every continent on earth Estimates for Its abundance in the Earth's crust vary between .001 to 0.004 parts per million. In seawater there are about 0.00001 ppm. The average human body (70 kg) contains 0.2 mg of gold with the bone containing .016 ppm and the liver .0004 ppm. It is 75th in order of abundance of the elements in the crust of the Earth.It occurs mostly in the native state, remaining chemically uncombined except with tellurium, selenium, and possibly bismuth. The element's only naturally occurring isotope is gold-197. Two types of deposits containing significant amounts of gold are known: hydrothermal veins, where it is associated with quartz and pyrite (fool's gold); and placer deposits, both consolidated and unconsolidated, that are derived from the weathering of gold-bearing rocks.

The origin of enriched veins is not fully known, but it is believed that the gold was carried up from great depths with other minerals, at least in partial solid solution, and later precipitated. The gold in rocks usually occurs as invisible disseminated grains, more rarely as flakes large enough to be seen, and even more rarely as masses or veinlets. Crystals about 2.5 cm (1 inch) or more across have been found in California. Masses, some on the order of 90 kg (200 pounds), have been reported from Australia. Gold occurs mostly in the native state, remaining chemically uncombined except with tellurium, selenium, and possibly bismuth. Gold is almost always associated with varying amounts of silver; the naturally occurring gold-silver alloy is called electrum, an alloy of gold, platinum and silver, with trace amounts of copper and other metals. electrum has a warm, moonlight-tinged hue of pale to bright yellow. Electrum occurs naturally in the geographic region of ancient Lydia in Western Anatolia (present-day Turkey).

Gold often occurs in association with copper and lead deposits, and, though the quantity present is often extremely small, it is readily recovered as a by-product in the refining of those base metals. Large masses of gold-bearing rock rich enough to be called ores are unusual. Gold also occurs in seawater to the extent of 5 to 250 parts by weight to 100 million parts of water. Although the quantity of gold present in seawater is more than 9 billion metric tons, the cost of recovering the gold would be far greater than the value of the gold that could thus be recovered. Compounds The characteristic oxidation states of gold are +1 (aurous compounds) and +3 (auric compounds). Gold is more easily displaced from solution by reduction than any other metal; even platinum will reduce Au3+ ions to metallic gold. Among the relatively few gold compounds of practical importance are gold chloride, AuCl; gold trichloride, AuCl3; and chlorauric acid, HAuCl4. In the first compound gold is in the +1 oxidation state, and in the latter two, the +3 state. All three compounds are involved in the electrolytic refining of gold.

Potassium cyanoaurate is the basis for most gold-plating baths (the solution employed when gold is plated). Several organic compounds of gold have industrial applications. For example, gold mercaptides, which are obtained from sulfurized terpenes, are dissolved in certain organic solutions and used for decorating china and glass articles. How much gold is there? The best estimates available suggest that the total volume of gold ever mined up to the end of 2006 was approximately 158,000 tonnes, of which around 65% has been mined since 1950. Adding to this the number of tonnes that have been mined since 2006: 2007 2,478 2009 2,589 2010 2,689 gives a total of 168,180 tonnes or 5,407,112,558 ounces. To visualise this imagine a single solid gold cube with edges of about 19 metres (about three metres short of the length of a tennis court). That's all that has ever been produced.

The population of the world is 6,692,030,277 so there are 25 grams of gold per person on the planet. Caveat The above calculation does not take into account the amount of gold lost each year in the form of industrial uses. Industrial and dental uses of gold account for about 10% of gold supply and most of this is used in quantities so small that it is not worth recovering. About .3% of the total above ground gold is probably lost each year in this manner. At today's price of $1202.50 an ounce, the value of all the gold in the world is $6,489,913,210,658 or $970 for each person on the planet. It is estimated that the total amount of gold yet to be retrieved from the Earth is about 100,000 tons. A study by the UN in 2006 put the world's wealth at $125 trillion making the value of the world's gold about 6% of the total.

Welsh Gold Welsh gold is one of the rarest metals in the world, and Welsh gold jewellery among the most highly valued. There are 3 mines in Wales of which the most famous is Clogau which produces gold with a distinctive rose tint. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, the Prince of Wales, Princess Diana and Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall all wore/wear wedding rings fashioned from Clogau gold. The wedding ring that Catherine Middleton wears is made of Welsh Gold.The gold was given to Prince William by The Queen shortly after the couple were engaged. It has been in the family's possession for some years and has been in the care of the Royal Jewellers. In November 1981, the Royal British Legion presented the Queen with 36-grammes of 21 carat Welsh Gold. Part of this gold went into the making of the ring worn by Sarah, Duchess of York (1986). The wedding rings worn by The Earl and Countess of Wessex are made from Welsh gold, too (possibly from the piece presented in November,1981). The Prince of Wales wears his wedding ring under his signet ring.

Welsh gold can be identified by trace-element isotope analysis, but this is not practical for the retail customer, and the best way to buy it, as with all jewellery, is from a reputable jeweller. Gold Mining The search for gold used to mean wading in riverbeds to sift gold from the rushing water. Today, gold is mined from the earth, since most of the surface gold ï¿½ known as alluvial gold ï¿½ has been found. Gold mining today is largely a matter of technology. First, geologists use geology maps to look for favorable areas to explore. Ore deposits are not easy to find and many of the ones exposed on the surface have already been found. Geologists use the physical and chemical characteristics of the rocks they are looking for to zero in on prospective areas. Once favorable geology is established, remote sensing, airborne and ground geophysics and geochemistry are used to outline targets for drill testing. Drilling at these sites brings up rock samples from various locations. These samples are analyzed to determine if any gold exists there, the size of the deposit, and the quality of the gold.

Using this information, mining engineers determine if enough gold is under the surface to make the mining worthwhile; the type of mine needed; the physical obstacles to getting to the gold; and what impact a mine would have on the area's wildlife and environment. If the gold is close to the surface, the engineers will design an open-pit mine; if the gold is buried deeply, they will plan an underground mine. Before the gold can be mined, an infrastructure must be created. Even if the gold is close to the surface, the simplest open-pit mine can take up to a year to build. In fact, the time between discovering gold and actually bringing it out of the earth can be up to five years. Since mines are often in remote locations, an entire infrastructure ï¿½ roads, administrative offices, equipment storage areas, even towns, schools and medical facilities ï¿½ must be built. The plans for the mines must be given the green light by a number of authorities at each level of government. Also, the mining company must put aside money for reclaiming the land once the gold is mined. In all, the preparation process can end up costing hundreds of millions of dollars ï¿½ before a single ounce of gold is mined.

Ore samples are taken and examined for the metallurgical quality of the gold in order to determine the appropriate processing technique required to remove the gold. The mine site infrastructure includes a processing area where the ore is crushed and undergoes various processes depending on the nature of the associated minerals and then the loose rock is sent to the appropriate processing location. The process for low-grade ore is relatively simple: a cyanide solution is applied to the heap, dissolving the gold, which is then collected. High-grade ore, on the other hand, heads to the grinding mill for a more extensive process. There are several different ore types which require different processes for optimal recovery of the gold. For example: 1. Oxide ore goes directly to the leaching circuit, where cyanide dissolves the gold. 2. Refractory ore, which contains carbon, is roasted at 1000 degrees Fahrenheit, burning off the sulphide and carbon, then heads to the leaching circuit. 3. Sulphide refractory ore, which does not contain carbon, is oxidized in an autoclave in order to separate the sulphide safely, and in an environmentally friendly manner, from the ore, which then enters the leaching circuit.

In the leaching circuit, the gold is extracted from the solution and deposited onto activated carbon, from which the gold is then chemically stripped. The impure gold is then melted into dorï¿½ bars, which are about 90 percent pure gold. These bars are usually shipped to a refinery where they undergo further processing. The refining process strips out the remaining impurities from the gold, which is either recycled scrap being upgraded or gold destined to become bullion bars. In the first step, crude gold is melted and treated with chloride, converting remaining metals to chlorides that will drift off the gold. The resulting 99.5 percent pure gold is cast into electrodes known as anodes, which are put into an electrolytic cell. After a current is passed through the cell, the end product is 99.99 percent pure gold. After a number of years, the gold reserves in a mine will be exhausted. In the old days, a spent mine would be boarded up and abandoned, but nowadays a reclamation project returns the land, as much as possible, to its previous natural state. Jewelry and Money Jewelry and money have always been closely related.

Historically precious metals were used as a store of value and tied around the owner's neck or wrist when traveling. Thus if the caravan was attacked by bandits, the travelers could abandon their bags and flee with their gold. Eventually people noticed that gold and silver looked attractive when worn this way, and these metals started to be used an jewelry. With the development of banking holding money in this way became less prevalent. although even today many people in Asia and the Middle East keep jewelry in place of fiat currency. The recognition that precious metals have a monetary component can be seen in the fact that they all have their own ISO 4217 currency code. Gold - XAU Palladium - XPD Gold as an Investment Throughout history gold has been a store of value. According to the Talmud you should keep one-third of your assets each in land, 'business interests', and gold. This idea has a modern equivalent in the Permanent Portfolio theory which prescribes a mix of 25% each of Treasury bills, long bonds, stocks and gold. Most pension funds invest only in equities and bonds, with small allocations to property and cash.

However, in recent years concerns have grown over the risks inherent in these asset classes, leading to increased interest in gold by hedge funds . Coins An advantage of coins is that they are easy to sell anywhere in the world. People will buy coins without assaying them which is not the case with gold bars. The premium over the spot price of gold is somewhere between 3-6% for a one ounce coin, although higher for smaller coins. For a 1/20 ounce coin the premium could be as high as 40%. Markup 1/20 Bars The premium over the spot price for bars is around 2%. Unfortunately it is easy to produce fake gold bars using tungsten, which has the exact same density as gold making a fake bar salted with tungsten indistinguishable from a solid gold bar by simply weighing it. Because tungsten is brittle it is hard to do this with coins. Jewelry In Asia and the Middle East many people buy jewelry as an investment. It is possible to buy 21K, 22K and 23K gold jewelry at around 5% over the spot price.

Exchange Traded Funds It is possible to buy shares in a gold ETF called GOLD, which has the ticker symbol GLD. The shares are priced at the mid point between the buying and selling price of the spot price of gold. IAU, SGOL and PHAU are 3 other gold based ETFs similar to GLD. PHAU is based in London. UGL replicates, net of expenses, twice the performance of gold bullion. DGZ is an ETN that shorts the gold price. DZZ double shorts gold. GDX tracks the AMEX Gold Miners index. There are several disadvantages to this way of owning gold. While the expenses of the gold ETF are low, the Trust will have to sell part of its gold stores to pay these expenses. Thus, over time, the fractional amount of physical gold represented by each share will decrease. Indeed it is not clear how much, if any, gold GLD actually possesses as it is never audited. The Central Fund of Canada,(CEF) is based in Canada and holds gold and silver on behalf on investors. Its holdings of gold are audited and it trades at a premium over its NAV, unlike to ETFs.

Futures and Options The principle futures contracts are YG, YI, ZG GC and SI.You can also buy and sell options on these contracts. Spot price: $1202.50 an ounce Total amount of gold in the world: 168,180 tonnes Total value of all the gold in the world: $6,502,052,850,995 Value of world's gold per person: $972 Roland Scal precious metals Chemical Formula/composition: gold is a native element, symbol is Au (from the Greek word for gold) Crystal habit: Crystals are rare, found as leaf, plate, nuggets, and electrum Hardness: 2-2.5 on Mohs scale in its pure state (softer than a fingernail). Specific gravity: 19.33 Toughness: not tough, but extremely malleable and ductile.

Cleavage: None Color: shades of yellow or amalgamated with other substance may even be a black color Other: Melting point of 1945 degrees Fahrenheit (1063 degrees C) Localities: Common simulants: Gold plate, plastics, Pinchbeck (a type of brass) Synthetics: None, though alchemist tried for centuries. The elusive philosopher's stone was supposed to turn lead into gold. Gold is one of the most desirable and precious metals. What makes gold valuable, along with its scarcity, are its physical properties that have made it the most popular metal for use in jewelry. Platinum and silver are also very desirable for jewelry and are discussed briefly. Gold from a gold vein. Gold has been known since ancient times. Its color pleases almost everyone. Its softness and only moderate melting point allowed it to be worked even in cultures that were relatively primitive (pre-industrialized).

Gold is more malleable than any other metal and can be hammered or rolled into foil so thin that it is nearly transparent and thinner than writing paper Its great ductility allows it to be drawn into wire so fine it can barely be seen ( a gram of gold can be made into a wire that stretches approximately 3 km [2 miles]). Gold also has the ability to withstand tarnishing (oxidizing) and corrosion, it stays bright and the color never fades with time. For instance, gold jewelry recovered from ancient Egyptian tombs is as wearable today as it was 4000 years ago. Gold is scarce and therefore expensive. Only 152,000 metric tons of gold have been mined the world over since the beginning of time. These physical properties make it extremely desirable for making jewelry. Besides jewelry, it has industrial applications in electronics and so there is high demand. Though soft in its pure state, fortunately, gold becomes harder when alloyed with various base metals. You would not want to have a pure gold ring because it could easily get bent and deform on your finger and be difficult to remove. Luckily it is able to bond with other base (non-valuable) metals.

This property gives rise to the many different colors available in modern gold alloys (described below). Gold is found in nature with other metals in alloys, one example is electrum which contains more than 20% silver. When gold is mixed with other metals by man it said to have been alloyed (chemically combined). The less valuable metal is referred to as base metal. The gold usually become harder and the melting temperature of the resulting alloy is changed. 18K (75% gold and 25% base metal [50% silver and 50% copper mixed with the gold]). Yellow gold has a melting point of 1675 degrees Fahrenheit and 14K (58%) yellow gold has a melting point of about 1550 degrees Fahrenheit. Gold has a specific gravity of 19.33, silver has a specific gravity of 10.7, and Platinum has an SG of 21.4. Platinum has a melting point of 1945oF. , (1063 oC).

TYPES OF GOLD MADE BY AMAGALMATION Yellow gold--50% silver and 50% copper White gold--Nickel, zinc, copper, tin and manganese (the nickel and other impurities can cause allergies). Pink (rose) gold--90% copper and 10% silver Green gold--High proportion of silver or cadmium Blue gold--Some iron

Question: Electrum is an alloy of gold and which other element?
Answer: Silver